FAITH

Christianity is the only religion, giving a definition for faith. Now faith is the substance of things hoped
for, the evidence of things not seen- Hebrews 11:1.
Without faith it is impossible to please God; and from the beginning man has known the importance
of faith. Our hope is in God, though we may not see Him we believe, and seek to please Him whether in
or out of the body. Our hope is that we will be home with Him for eternity. We patiently await that
reunion on the basis of our faith.

OLD TESTAMENT FAITH:
(Taken from Hebrews Chpt. 11 verse: )
4) By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as
righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is
dead.
-Offering: giving back to God- thanksgiving. We please God with our offerings done out of faith,
in appreciation for the grace He has shown in blessing us. Thanksgiving pleases God.
5) By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: "He could not be
found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one
who pleased God.
7) By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his
family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in
keeping with faith.
-Obedience: Noah was reverent of God- he had a holy fear. This reverence caused him to obey
God; and by faith that God was real and His promises sure Noah built the ark. Because of His
faith, God spared him and his family. Noah hadnt seen God but worshipped and revered Him
out of tradition and faith, which built a relationship. When the world called him a fool, he was
proven by God.
8) By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance,
obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9) By faith he made his
home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and
Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10) For he was looking forward to the city
with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
-Abraham grew up worshipping idols as his forefathers. He heard from a God who was invisible,
unlike the ones he knew and served. He trusted though he could not see, he believed though
persecuted. God sent him to a promised land and by faith he moved, abandoning his family and
what he knew to be familiar. Abraham did not know where he was going, yet he moved by the
leading of God.
11) And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children
because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.
-Sarah laughed when she was told that she would bear Isaac, being post-menopausal. Thats
why the scripture says EVEN Sarah. She had doubted, but God is a respecter of no person- she
had a son Isaac; only when she moved by faith. In her first selfish attempt- out of the flesh,
Ishmael was born and problems followed. But only when she recognized that Gods will needed
to be done and in His time all things shall be fulfilled, did she see the harvest of her seed of faith.
If God could bring them to a promised land and bless them, He could make the impossible
possible!

17) By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced
the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18) even though God had said to him,
"It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." 19 Abraham reasoned that God could
even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
-When God told Abraham He wanted him to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham was faithful enough to
obey Gods instructions. Of course God has fulfilled each plan Hes made since; he didnt say
well God, how could You? You gave me this boy and now Youre taking him away. How could
You be so cruel, so disappointing? No... He didnt worry because God was taking away a son- a
gift he waited 25 years for. Though God promised that the blessing would be passed on through
Isaac, Abraham did not question God. Rather, he figured God would raise Isaac from the dead.
This is indeed faith, not knowing what lies ahead, but willing to sacrifice such a dear possession,
and to hope beyond the visual realm that it shall be returned. Gods word is yea and amen.

27) By faith he (Moses) left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw
him who is invisible.
- Moses persevered Though we, unlike Moses, may not have seen the face of God, are
expected to persevere those that endure shall receive a crown of righteousness. The
cartoon version shows that Moses encountered God when he was distressed- had some
trouble with an agile lamb, this is assumed as he was tending Jethros flock. It was in a
difficult time that Moses encountered God. He didnt expect to, because of the distraction
of the problem; but God was in the midst of it and He had a plan. So in the midst of pain,
trust God.. Hes working in mysterious ways. We may not have seen Him, but we had the
opportunity to experience His love through His Sons death and we have the blessed hope of
meeting Him to say thanks once weve persevered.
31) By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those
who were disobedient.
- Despite the possibility of being killed for being a traitor, Rahab had faith in the Israelites and
believed in the God who always showed Himself faithful to His people. She didnt know if
theyd forget her and wipe out her family in the heat of the battle, but she trusted them
because of the reports of who they were in the sight of God. Her faith, made her the mother
of Boaz, and thus one of Jesus predecessors. Faith made her achieve her mark of greatness:
From prostitute to royal predecessor.
(Hosea) By faith the prophet Hosea married a harlot. By faith he took her back after she had
abandoned him and returned to prostitution.
- By faith Hosea obeyed the Lords orders. His trouble was a witness to and testimony to an
entire nation. Sometimes our trials, what we term trouble is a blessing in disguise, its how
we maneuver, how we persevere that determines the intensity of the light at the end of
that tunnel.
40) since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be
made perfect.
- God has a perfect plan for each life, some things are yet to be revealed by His Spirit. It is
only as we wait on Him, let His Spirit lead, submit to His will and work with (not for) Him
let Him humble us and bring us to the place where we seek His face and His will for our lives
to be revealed then will His perfect plan be materialized.
Jeremiah 29:11- I know the plans I have for you; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to
give you hope and a future.


Joshua 1:8-9
1 Samuel 17:20-50
2 Chronicles 20:20-30
Daniel 3:1-30
Esther 4:6-5:7
Job 2
Psalm 13; 18; 22:1-5, 24; 25:1-15; 27:1-3; 28:6-8; 30:1-3; 31:19-20; 32:7; 33:4-11; 34:4-10; 35:10; 37:3-7,
23-25, 39-40; 38:13-15; 40:1-4; 46; 55:22; 62; 63; 65:5-8; 66;5; 71:5-7; 75:1-3; 77:11-15; 81:6-10; 86;11-
13, 15; 89:1-2; 91; 105:3-8; 106:8-12; 107:8-9; 109:26,27; 110:1; 112; 113; 116:1-6; 117; 119; 121; 130:5-
7; 138:1-3,8; 139; 143; 145:8-9, 13-20; 146:5-9; 147:2-6,10-14; 148:6; 149:4,5.
Mark 9:23
Luke1:37
John 14:1
Philippians 4:13
Hebrews 10:38
1 John 5:5
James 4;15.
Mark 11:12
1 Cor. 4:13,14
1 Cor. 5:5
James 1:2-4
Eph. 6:8
Isaiah 41:30
Isaiah 40:8
2 Peter 3:9
2 Cor. 13:11
Prov. 3:5-6
Prov. 14: 26-27
Romans 4:18
James 4:10
1 John 3:21-22
1 Cor. 2:12
Isaiah 2:9
Hebrews 11
Matt. 7;26
Luke 8:13, 40-56
1 Cor. 2:5
Eph. 6: 10-18
Phil. 3:7-11
Col. 2:5
James 2
1 John 5:1-12
Gal. 6:9
Prov. 21:21
2 Thess. 3:5
Acts 13:38
2 Cor. 5:1
Joel 2:27
Titus 3:5-6
Luke 1:79
Eph. 3:20
Phil. 1:6
Mal. 3:6
1 Thess. 4:16
2 Tim. 1:12
1 Pet. 3: 10
Job 36:7
Matt. 28:20
Gal. 1:4
1 John 3;3
1 John 5:5,12
2 Cor. 7:4
2 Cor. 4:17


The just shall live by faith, God doesnt give us more than we can bear!